I survived a semester!

As I accurately predicted, I’ve had less time to write than I wanted to. That doesn’t say very much, though – ever since I was about 16, I don’t think I’ve ever had enough time to do all the things I was interested in doing. That says more about how many things I’m interested in doing than it does about how much time I “have” (the latter of which is the same as everyone else in the universe not travelling at relativistic speeds – namely 24 hours each day). But that’s okay – I’ve still gained a lot from having this blog and I anticipate to continue to do so.

The point of me writing this is not to lament my inability to post more frequently, but simply to stop in on the last day of Term 2 and say: I’m still alive after my first six months as a head teacher! I know that probably doesn’t sound like much to many of you reading this (“What, it isn’t even a whole year yet and he’s already celebrating?”), but I honestly feel like I’ve climbed a mountain since the year began. I am tired but still love what I’m doing, and I count that to be a small victory worth smiling about.

I feel this is an appropriate time to stop and say thanks to many of the people who’ve encouraged me in the last few weeks and months. I’ve been through my fair share of moments filled with self-doubt, and many kind people have done the equivalent of patting me on the back and saying, “Keep going, mate – you’re doing alright.” This is particularly meaningful from those of you who have already taken the executive/leadership step up that I have just made – either in recent times or a long while ago – and therefore have a deep and personal understanding of the specific struggles and tensions that I’m now encountering for the first time.

There are too many people to name individually, but I’m thinking of people like @corisel, @dickfaber, @glenn_langford, @sailpip, @jennyluca and many others, whose positive words to me carry a tremendous amount of weight because I know they come from years of hard-earned experience. To everyone who’s nudged me along, thank you! (As a side note to this side note, this reminds me of how we should all recognise that even our small words here and there can have a surprisingly disproportionate effect on those around us!)

Hi Eddie, Congratulations on arriving safely at the end of your first semester as HT!
Just have to mention… love your first paragraph because it raises a question that has had me thinking for some time… is your 24 hours actually the same as someone else’s?
From where I sit you seem to be highly productive and well organised – people like that seem to get more out of their 24 hours than others do. Is that just a perception? or is that an acknowledgement of the truth about time – that it isn’t linear in an absolute sense but rather a quantity that we can manipulate? Everyone can give examples of when time seems to drag and other occasions where time seems to speed past – how much proof do we need before we realise that 24 hours is different for different people! Just because we arrive at the same point at the end… does it mean we all travelled the same linear journey?
I’ll continue to wonder… “Chaos is the study of deterministic systems that are so sensitive to measurement that their output appears random.”
Second semester awaits…
Best wishes, Deb Hogg

Thank you so much Deb! Well, I guess I was making a point about the equivalence of everyone’s objective time – in reference to the people (myself included, sometimes) who are constantly frustrated by “not having enough time”. I think that’s silly; in a real sense, we all have the same amount of time, and it’s merely a question of how we choose to use it. Priorities, I guess.

But you raise a valid point: time can be used well and it can also be used poorly. I learned some years ago that I am more productive if I wake up three hours earlier than if I stay up three hours later. In other words, I have greater clarity of mind and use my time more efficiently between 4am and 7am than I do between 9pm and midnight. That’s just one example of how I try to carve out “as much” time as I can out of the 24 hours that we all share. 🙂